Scalable Ion Trap Architecture for Universal Quantum Computation by Collisions

Abstract

We propose a scalable ion trap architecture for universal quantum computation, which is composed of an array of ion traps with one ion confined in each trap. The neighboring traps are designed capable of merging into one single trap. The universal two-qubit $\sqrt{SWAP}$ gate is realized by direct collision of two neighboring ions in the merged trap, which induces an effective spin-spin interaction between two ions. We find that the collision-induced spin-spin interaction decreases with the third power of two ions' trapping distance. Even with a $200\ \mu m$ trapping distance between atomic ions in Paul traps, it is still possible to realize a two-qubit gate operation with speed in $0.1\ kHz$ regime. The speed can be further increased up into $0.1\ MHz$ regime using electrons with $10\ mm$ trapping distance in Penning traps.